A member of the Loudoun County School Board who was facing removal efforts has resigned as scandal in the district mounts.
The Virginia school district has been embroiled in a heated battle between supporters of school board policies regarding transgender students as well as lessons deemed to be in alignment with critical race theory by critics and angry parents who have turned board meetings into headline-grabbing events.
Last week, The Daily Wire reported that the daughter of a parent who had been arrested at a school board meeting had been sexually assaulted by a transgender student at school and that the district had tried to cover it up.
This father and his wife are now suing the school district.
Beth Barts suddenly resigned from her post on the school board last week amid the scandal as she faces criticism for her alleged involvement with a Facebook group that was compiling lists of parents who opposed the controversial transgender policies and critical race theory agenda.
She had already been reprimanded and censured by the board, as The Washington Post reported.
The board voted first to reprimand, then to formally censure Barts — and finally to remove her from school committees — for violating school board rules during some of her interactions with county residents and through her posts on social media. Other board members called her behavior inflammatory.
In a school board document from early this year, chair Sheridan wrote that Barts “fail[ed] to put student interest first” and “to show respect for fellow board members.”
Her resignation reportedly comes just ahead of a trial that was part of efforts to recall her from her post.
The Blaze reported that her resignation was hailed by Ian Prior, who heads up the group that has lead the recall effort, Fight for Schools.
“This could not have been an easy decision for Ms. Barts. We have made known our displeasure with her actions as a school board member over the past several months, but today she has done the right thing,” he said in a statement. “Her former colleagues should take notice.”
“The community should know, however, that the problems at Loudoun County Public Schools and on the school board go well beyond one school board member. We will continue to shine a light on Loudoun County Public Schools and will keep fighting until we have a school board of common sense, non-partisan members and a superintendent who is accountable to parents and tells the truth.”
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